UTAH ACADEMY OF SCIENCES 205 
BEET MOLASSES AS A FEED FOR WEANLING PIGS. 
By W. E. CARROLL. 
(Summary). 
Thirty grade Tamworth pigs between 9 and 12 weeks 
old were divided into three as nearly uniform lots as pos- 
sible. A basal ration composed of 2 parts ground barley 
and 3 parts wheat shorts was fed to all lots. Lot 1 re- 
ceived only the basal ration; Lot 2, the basal ration and 
1 pound of beet molasses for each 100 pounds live weight; 
Lot 3, the basal ration and 2 pounds of the molasses for 
each 100 pounds live weight. 
Feeding was done by lots. Weights were pee weekly 
of each lot and individual weighings were made each month. 
Feeding began July 23 and as early as August 28 two 
pigs in Lot 3 died. Up to this time the pigs in neither 
Lots 2 nor 3 appeared as thrifty as in Lot 1. 
The symptoms preceding death were loss of appetite, 
lack of thrift, and partial loss of muscular control, re- 
sulting in a wobbling, uncertain gait. This muscular 
weakness sometimes lasted a day or two and then disap- 
peared for a time. There was no scouring in any of the 
cases, as would be expected had the animals been overfed 
in the ordinary meaning of that term. 
Post mortem examination of two of the typical cases 
showed no decided pathological condition. The livers and 
kidneys were, however, considerably congested. 
The first death in Lot 2 occurred September 18. At 
the close of the test Lots 2 and 3 each contained only 3 
live pigs, while not one pig had been lost from Lot 1. The 
average live weight of the surviving pigs was 57 pounds for 
those in Lot 2 and 47 pounds for the ones in Lot 3, as 
against 88 pounds for the average of the 10 pigs in Lot 1. 
Such disastrous results were not expected at the be- 
ginning and no provision was made for an adequate ex- 
amination of the affected and dead animals. 
No explanation is offered for the cause of death, as 
other experiments are recorded where more of the molasses 
was fed than in this test. The age of the pig, however, may 
be a factor. 
